Insecta is an intricately detailed transformations deck, ~2000 hours in the making

Insecta is a transformations deck that imagines a vibrant symbiotic relationship between card players and pip-carrying insects. Every single card has a unique and highly detailed design, hand-drawn by me (I'm Immy Smith, hi) featuring colourful imaginary insects. There are 2 colour variants with different tucks and card back designs. Well over 1500 hours have gone into drawing the card face designs, and more are going into editing the deck & book artwork for print. This deck is a labour of love; about 2000 hours of creative work, all in! It features more than 240 individual insects (no copy-pasting, every single insect has been drawn separately - you can see a timelapse of the 10 of hearts below.)

The four 10 designs for the Insecta deck - each insect has been drawn individually

About the deck

I'm always curious about how nature responds to change, & how life adapts to new environments. In my Cryptic Cards deck, I imagined what would happen if moths evolved new wing patterns to hide on human-made materials like playing cards. The idea behind Insecta, rather than cryptic camouflage, is a colourful symbiosis. I'm asking 'what would happen if insects evolved a symbiotic (mutually beneficial) relationship with card players or collectors, and adapted to new habitats in our spaces?'

The 8s each show multi-coloured jewel-like insects, including jewel beetles and jewel wasps

The initial scanned & cleaned drawing for the 4 of clubs, featuring a cherry red imaginary species of deck-dwelling chafer beetle in the genus Protaetia

The Insecta deck is my imagined answer to that question; a story where new species from different taxonomic orders of insects have evolved to carry suit symbols for players, in exchange for a safe home on card tables. The 2 colour variants, Opal and Ruby, are inspired by the jewel-like appearance of many insects, and reflect the colours in the court cards of the different suits.

The Insecta suits

Spades - Hemiptera (true bugs)

All of the Spades card designs in the Insecta Deck

Hearts - Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, ants, and sawflies)

All of the Hearts card designs in the Insecta deck

Clubs - Coleoptera (beetles)

All of the Clubs card designs in the Insecta deck

Diamonds - Blattodea (cockroaches)

All of the Diamonds designs in the Insecta deck

Jokers - There are four jokers in the Insecta deck. The designs will be kept secret until all the decks have shipped. In a world of 24/7 news and social media exposure... It's good to still have some surprises in life. In my last deck, Cryptic Cards, I kept the Ace of Spades a secret until all the decks went out. This time the Jokers will be the surprise, so you'll have something new to see when your deck arrives.

Opal tuck box and card back

Ruby tuck box and card back

Artbook - Accompanying the deck is a limited edition (250) artbook in the style of a guide to deck dwelling insects. It features all the artwork from the project, with a short story about each imaginary insect species and its behaviour.

The Insecta artbook cover, and limited edition numbered inside page

Reward add-ons & shipping

All of the items within the rewards can be added on to your pledge. Please send me a Kickstarter message if you want to add on items, so I can keep track of what you've pledged for, calculate any extra shipping, and track the number of limited edition items. So, you can add;

1-3 Extra Decks - £10 per deck and extra shipping of £1 (UK) £2 (International) per deck, for up to 3 extra decks

Half-brick (6 decks) or brick (12 decks) - add the brick/half-brick reward & shipping value. You can also add extra insurance to the full value if you want it (see note on shipping below)

Print editions - limited edition (of 20) A4 bright white matte finish prints of each of the card designs are available for £12 per print, contact me for shipping and insurance quotes. Prints are signed on the front unless requested, and are printed in Canon ink & paper guaranteed to last a minimum of 100 years if kept out of direct sunlight

Certificates of authenticity for limited items can be included on request. All items will ship via UK Royal Mail. Add tracked/signed shipping for £2 (UK) or £5 (international) - includes compensation to £50. Extra insurance for compensation up to £250 can be added to international tracked & signed shipping for £3. If you're based in the UK & want me to use Royal Mail Guaranteed special delivery services, drop me a Kickstarter message to arrange.

Artwork, printing, & schedule

Artwork readiness - the artwork is completed, digitised, and has been processed to remove the paper background, clean up any dust/spots on the scanned image, & overlaid on the digital card templates. The artwork is currently going through final edits to be made ready for print. To ensure consistency across all the artwork in a long-term project like this, I leave final edits & any redrawing for all designs til the end, so I can do them together. Right now, I'm editing shadows under the insects, tidying edges and tweaking the odd insect leg or antenna to stay within the print margins of the card template. All these small changes & edits need to be done before laying out and sending final artwork to the printer for proofing.

Printers - Insecta will be printed by Cartamundi UK, who also printed my Cryptic Cards deck. Cartamundi is the world's largest card and board game manufacturer, with its UK site right here in the south of England. The book will be printed by ExWhyZed, who I've had a good experience with before, and who are experts in art catalogues, small books, and zines.

Timeline - The schedule for rewards allows for me completing my editing, proofing, and the wait times provided by each printer. It also allows extra time in case of any hiccups - for example, needing any extra rounds of proofing, or having to return/reprint any items that get damaged in transit, or misprints. It may turn out that I can start shipping in July if everything goes 100% perfectly to plan. But life is rarely perfect - so I'm planning accordingly!

Above is a timelapse for the Ace of Spades design, including a small colour test drawing at 1/4 size. It took just under 30 hours to draw

Funding goal

The majority of my funding goal is made up of printing the deck. I've been in discussion with Cartamundi UK, and am happy with their formal quote. Shipping rewards is the second biggest chunk, and within that I'm accounting for a large proportion of backers being located overseas (particularly in the US, where around half my Cryptic Cards backers were based.) Third on the list is artbook printing, likewise already discussed & quoted by ExWhyZed. The remainder of the goal accounts for mailing containers and all the other small reward items/packaging/materials/etc.

Stretch goals - if this Kickstarter exceeds its goal, I will focus on embellishments to the printed decks, in line with Cartamundi's offerings and minimum order requirements. This Kickstarter has a bigger funding goal than my first one, especially given I'm aiming for two different coloured tucks & backs. So I'm very focused on meeting my initial goal... But I do have one beady eye on possible tuck embellishment.

A WIP series and the finished drawing for the 7 of Spades, featuring shiny metallic blue shield bugs

Background info

About me

I'm an interdisciplinary sciartist; I work freelance in the visual arts, and also have experience in bioscience as a researcher, and in tech as a data analyst. I'm particularly interested in natural patterns and their evolution/adaption to change. Cryptic camouflage, mimicry, and symbiosis are my fascinations; I'm always imagining how they might evolve. I also make generative art, and draw in Morse code. You can see more of my art here, and get pelted with my art on a regular basis by joining my Patreon here.

Me in my studio

The background idea behind Insecta...

We love to think of biodiversity-rich environments like pristine forests, or remote valleys. But spend a few minutes in an urban park or disused lot, and you'll often find it full of life. From the quiet corners in your home, to abandoned buildings and sunken ships, humans create new ecological niches, even though we destroy far too many others. Nature is resourceful in filling them, so... What if our day-to-day spaces provide unexpected opportunities for new symbiotic relationships between us and other species?

As humans change Earth's environment, many species are threatened - and despite their multitudinous variety, insects are not immune from extinction. While this should give us more reason to fight for change in the way humanity treats the planet and its many intricately connected ecosystems... We also need hope. We need to imagine ways to thrive alongside other species, without their destruction. Without hope, it's easy to become apathetic and give up trying to make change. So the Insecta deck is my expression of hope for the future, my imagining humans sharing more space with insect life.

I hope you enjoy the artwork in the Insecta deck. And if it makes you wonder even a little about insects you come across in the niches you inhabit? That would be a great bonus.

Risks and challenges

The main risk/challenge, based on my previous experience, is some of the print items arriving with errors or damage. I've been through lots of different kinds of print projects at this point in my life, and there's usually something that needs replacing! So I've tried to factor that into the timing of rewards. I had a good experience with Cartamundi and ExWhyZed making necessary replacements for my last deck. Cartamundi charge a fee for any additional rounds of proofing after the first round, so I've accounted for a set of extra proofs. It could also take me longer to finalise artwork than expected if I need to make any further edits for proofing, and that's a second reason that I've been generous in allowing time for reward delivery. I want to give you (and me) the best possible deck I can. So while I don't anticipate any delays in that regard; better safe than sorry!

In the event that the printing of smaller items like the book and postcards runs into any major issues, I have a back-up printer costed that I have previous experience with. I'll be making the limited edition prints in house, but in the event that anything disastrous happens/my fancy printer explodes/the cats eat my nice print paper/etc, I can also source art prints from another supplier. I also have multiple suppliers for mounts for original artwork.

I have received written quotes for all the printing already, but there's always a possibility that changes happening here in the UK could lead to an increase in my shipping costs to mainland Europe when I'm mailing rewards. In budgeting for shipping costs, I've accounted as if all overseas backers are outside Europe, to be on the safe side.

If you backed my previous Kickstarter, you'll know I changed card printer from a smaller company to Cartamundi; the smaller company in the end couldn't give me the quality standards they'd promised. While that wasn't fun... It means I have experience dealing with playing card project problems, and still delivering a great quality deck. Cryptic Cards came out really beautifully, Cartamundi did a smashing job, and I'm still very proud of it. So I'm willing do what's necessary to get the best possible rewards to you.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge £12 or more
About US$ 16

Insecta artbook; a guide to deck insects

Want to enjoy all the Insecta Deck artwork in a larger format? This book is for you; every imaginary species in the Insecta Deck (both variants) in a full colour A5 120 page artbook. The book is a limited edition (of 250), and is in the format of a spotters guide to deck-dwelling insects, including a species description for each creature, notes on it's behaviour, and associated lore.

Ships by Royal Mail UK first class or international standard delivery. Add £2 (UK) or £5 (international) for tracked/signed for delivery.

Add-ons are detailed on the main page, pls drop me a line to calculate any additional shipping for you. Thanks!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge £12 or more
About US$ 16

Uncut Sheet - Opal or Ruby

Just want the beautiful Opal or Ruby uncut sheet to hang on your wall (or both?) This rewards is for 1 uncut sheet of the Opal or Ruby variant deck (you'll be asked which in a survey when the Kickstarter finishes.)

Sheets will be rolled into a sturdy tube for shipping. To ensure that your uncut sheets stay in perfect condition, no other reward items can be included in the same tube. A numbered certificate of authenticity is included.

Ships by Royal Mail UK first class or international standard delivery. Add £2 (UK) or £5 (international) for tracked/signed for delivery.

Add-ons are detailed on the main page, pls drop me a line to calculate any additional shipping for you. Thanks!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge £20 or more
About US$ 27

Both decks; 1 Opal & 1 Ruby Insecta Deck

1 each of the Insecta deck Ruby (orange-red-purple card back & tuck design) and Opal (blue-green back & tuck) variants. Each deck has a hand-numbered seal on the cello wrapper, and comes with a small leaflet.

Ships by Royal Mail UK first class or international standard delivery. Add £2 (UK) or £5 (international) for tracked/signed for delivery.

Add-ons are detailed on the main page, pls drop me a line to calculate any additional shipping for you. Thanks!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge £20 or more
About US$ 27

Opal Insecta deck & uncut sheet

1 uncut sheet and 1 deck of the Insecta deck Opal (blue-green back and tuck) variant. Sheets will be rolled into a sturdy tube for shipping, decks will ship in a separate carton. To ensure that your uncut sheets stay in perfect condition, no other reward items can be included in the same tube. A numbered certificate of authenticity is included.

Ships by Royal Mail UK first class or international standard delivery. Add £2 (UK) or £5 (international) for tracked/signed for delivery.

Add-ons are detailed on the main page, pls drop me a line to calculate any additional shipping for you. Thanks!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge £20 or more
About US$ 27

Ruby Insecta deck & uncut sheet

1 uncut sheet and 1 deck of the Insecta deck Ruby (orange-red-purple card back & tuck design) variant. Sheets will be rolled into a sturdy tube for shipping, decks will ship in a separate carton. To ensure that your uncut sheets stay in perfect condition, no other reward items can be included in the same tube. A numbered certificate of authenticity is included.

Ships by Royal Mail UK first class or international standard delivery. Add £2 (UK) or £5 (international) for tracked/signed for delivery.

Add-ons are detailed on the main page, pls drop me a line to calculate any additional shipping for you. Thanks!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge £38 or more
About US$ 50

2 uncut sheets + 2 decks (Opal & Ruby)

1 uncut sheet and 1 deck of both the Insecta deck Ruby (orange-red-purple card back & tuck design) and Opal (blue-green back and tuck) variants. Sheets will be rolled into a sturdy tube for shipping, decks will ship in a separate carton. To ensure that your uncut sheets stay in perfect condition, no other reward items can be included in the same tube. A numbered certificate of authenticity is included.

Ships by Royal Mail UK first class or international standard delivery. Add £2 (UK) or £5 (international) for tracked/signed for delivery.

Add-ons are detailed on the main page, pls drop me a line to calculate any additional shipping for you. Thanks!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge £48 or more
About US$ 64

Insecta half brick; 3 Opal & 3 Ruby deck

6 decks - 3 each of the Insecta deck Ruby (orange-red-purple card back & tuck design) and Opal (blue-green back & tuck) variants. Each deck has a hand-numbered seal on the cello wrapper, and comes with a small leaflet.

Ships by Royal Mail UK first class or international standard delivery. Add £2 (UK) or £5 (international) for tracked/signed for delivery. Add £3 for insurance to the full replacement value.

Add-ons are detailed on the main page, pls drop me a line to calculate any additional shipping for you. Thanks!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge £70 or more
About US$ 93

4 x prints + 2 decks + 1 artbook

4 x limited edition (20) A4 prints of the Insecta designs of your choice. Prints are in full colour on bright white matte finish, & colours last a minimum of 100 years if kept out of direct sunlight. Prints are wrapped and mail rolled in a separate tube. Certificate of authenticity included, signed on the front unless otherwise requested.

Plus 1 of each variant of the Insecta deck - Ruby (orange-red-purple card back design) and Opal (blue-green back design) - plus the limited edition artwork book, and a free postcard & stickers.

Ships by Royal Mail UK first class or international standard delivery. Add £2 (UK) or £5 (international) for tracked/signed for delivery.

Add-ons are detailed on the main page, pls drop me a line to calculate any additional shipping for you. Thanks!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge £90 or more
About US$ 119

Insecta full brick; 6 Opal & 6 Ruby deck

12 decks - 6 each of the Insecta deck Ruby (orange-red-purple card back & tuck design) and Opal (blue-green back & tuck) variants. Each deck has a hand-numbered seal on the cello wrapper, and comes with a small leaflet. Also comes with 2 free postcards & stickers.

Ships by Royal Mail UK first class or international standard delivery. Add £2 (UK) or £5 (international) for tracked/signed for delivery. Add £3 for insurance to the full replacement value.

Add-ons are detailed on the main page, pls drop me a line to calculate any additional shipping for you. Thanks!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge £150 or more
About US$ 199

Original A5 insect design, 2 decks +book

An original A5 drawing. Choose between one of the insects created for the tucks & card backs, or the A5 single insect designs for the court cards. Mounted in a black acid free card mount, to fit a standard 8" x 10" frame. These drawings are in oil based pigment pencils on A5 acid free drawing paper. Each is signed on the front unless otherwise requested, and comes with a certificate of authenticity.

Plus 1 of each variant of the Insecta deck (Ruby and Opal), the limited edition artwork book, and a free postcard & stickers.

Ships by Royal Mail UK guaranteed or international tracked delivery, with insurance to the full value.

Add-ons are detailed on the main page, pls drop me a line to calculate any additional shipping for you. Thanks!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge £260 or more
About US$ 345

Original A4 card design, 2 decks +book

One of my original full card design drawings, mounted in a black acid free card mount, to fit a standard 11" x 14" frame. These drawings are in oil based pigment pencils on A4 acid free drawing paper, and took between 20 and 30 hours to make. Each is signed on the front unless otherwise requested, and comes with a certificate of authenticity.

Plus 1 of each variant of the Insecta deck (Ruby and Opal), the limited edition artwork book, and a free postcard & stickers.

Ships by Royal Mail UK guaranteed or international tracked delivery, with insurance to the full value.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge £500 or more
About US$ 663

Original large commission 2 decks + book

Love entomological art? Commission a giant insect of your own, and give me a reason to make an extra-special artwork! Tell me your favourite insect species; I'll evolve its deck-dwelling relative for you, and draw it in exquisite detail at 9" x 12" size. Complete with its own species name & description, and mounted in black acid free card to fit a standard 11" x 14" frame, your custom imaginary insect will be created in oil based pigment pencils on acid free heavyweight paper, signed on the front unless otherwise requested, with a certificate of authenticity.

Plus 1 of each variant of the Insecta deck - Ruby (orange-red-purple card back design) and Opal (blue-green back design) - and the limited edition artwork book, handwritten postcard from me, and a free postcard pack & stickers.

Ships by Royal Mail UK guaranteed or international tracked & signed delivery, with insurance to the full value.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge £10 or more
About US$ 13

Early bird; 1 x Opal deck

Get in early for a discount on a deck with a free sticker. 1 x Insecta deck Opal variant (blue-green card back & tuck design.) Each deck has a hand-numbered seal on the cello wrapper, and comes with a small leaflet.

Ships by Royal Mail UK first class or international standard delivery. Add £2 (UK) or £5 (international) for tracked/signed for delivery.

Add-ons are detailed on the main page, pls drop me a line to calculate any additional shipping for you. Thanks!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge £10 or more
About US$ 13

Early bird; 1 x Ruby deck

Get in early for a discount on a deck with a free sticker. 1 x Insecta deck Ruby variant (orange-red-purple card back & tuck design.) Each deck has a hand-numbered seal on the cello wrapper, and comes with a small leaflet.

Ships by Royal Mail UK first class or international standard delivery. Add £2 (UK) or £5 (international) for tracked/signed for delivery.

Add-ons are detailed on the main page, pls drop me a line to calculate any additional shipping for you. Thanks!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge £10 or more
About US$ 13

Early bird limited edition art book

Get in early for a discount on the art book with a free sticker & postcard! Want to enjoy all the Insecta artwork in a larger format? This book is for you; every imaginary species in the Insecta Deck (both variants) in a full colour A5 120 page artbook. The book is a limited edition (of 250), and is in the format of a spotters guide to deck-dwelling insects, including a species description for each creature, notes on it's behaviour, and associated lore.

Ships by Royal Mail UK first class or international standard delivery. Add £2 (UK) or £5 (international) for tracked/signed for delivery.

Add-ons are detailed on the main page, pls drop me a line to calculate any additional shipping for you. Thanks!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge £18 or more
About US$ 24

Early bird both decks; 1 Opal & 1 Ruby

Get in early for a discount on both variants of the Insecta deck with a free sticker and postcard! 1 each of the Insecta deck Ruby (orange-red-purple card back & tuck design) and Opal (blue-green back & tuck) variants. Each deck has a hand-numbered seal on the cello wrapper, and comes with a small leaflet.

Ships by Royal Mail UK first class or international standard delivery. Add £2 (UK) or £5 (international) for tracked/signed for delivery.

Add-ons are detailed on the main page, pls drop me a line to calculate any additional shipping for you. Thanks!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge £27 or more
About US$ 36

Early bird - artbook + both decks

Get in early for a discount on 1 each of the Insecta deck variants - Ruby (orange-red-purple card back design) and Opal (blue-green back design) - plus the limited edition artwork book, and a free postcard & stickers.

Ships by Royal Mail UK first class or international standard delivery. Add £2 (UK) or £5 (international) for tracked/signed for delivery.

Add-ons are detailed on the main page, pls drop me a line to calculate any additional shipping for you. Thanks!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge £70 or more
About US$ 93

Original test drawing, 2 decks + artbook

One of my original little test drawings, mounted in a black acid free card mount, to fit a standard 5" x 7" frame. These drawings were made as colour tests for the larger card designs, and are in oil based pigment pencils on A6 acid free drawing paper. They include the 10 of Hearts honey wasp and Ace of Spades cicada tests that you can see in the videos on the campaign page. Each is signed on the front unless otherwise requested, and comes with a certificate of authenticity.

Plus 1 of each variant of the Insecta deck (Ruby and Opal), the limited edition artwork book, and a free postcard & stickers.

Ships by Royal Mail UK guaranteed or international tracked delivery, with insurance to the full value.

Add-ons are detailed on the main page, pls drop me a line to calculate any additional shipping for you. Thanks!